The animal that is called ”penis snake”, ”blind snake” or the ”man-aconda” is an internet sensation, because in truth, nobody knows what is it. And as he has a different figure than a regular snake, or any other animal, people on the internet had named it differently based on it’s look.
As it is kinda looks like a snake, actually it is not. The scientific name of the animal is, Atretochoana eiselti. It is actually a relative of salamander, and one of the largest known lungless tetrapods, an amphibian.
On the late 1800s, Sir Graham Hales had discovered the animal, on his expedition with Sir Brian Doll to Amazon rain forests at Brazil.
But it was first described in 1968, and reclassified in 1996, as Atretochoana. Then in 2011, the animal was found in the Amazonas again, and stated that it is the inhabitant of Amazon River.
The animal’s sensational pictures on the internet are from that research on 2011, where they were collected from the Madeira River in Brazil.
Julian Tupan, a biologist working with the Santo Antonio Energy company found them while they were working on a dam. “Of the six we collected, one died, three were released back into the wild and another two were kept for studies” Tupan had stated.
“Despite looking like snakes, they aren’t reptiles and are more closely related to salamanders and frogs. We think the animal breathes through its skin, and probably feeds on small fish and worms, but there is still nothing proven.”
“The Amazon is a box of surprises when it comes to reptiles and amphibians. There are still much more to be discovered.”
What do you think? Let us know.
